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IV. FORMAL EXPOSITION
IV. FORMAL EXPOSITION Sometimes we are called upon to explain a larger subject than may conveniently be handled in a single short passage. We then need to be familiar with other devices for communicating our knowledge clearly and without unnecessary effort on our reader's part. Let us say that we desire to explain the in¬dustry of lumbering, as it is practiced in a certain part of the country we are familiar with. We find that it will be to our interest, following the method of all good expositions, to divide our matter into three divisions: introduction, body, and conclusion. Whether in the final draft of our essay we begin with the introduction first, or whether we choose to finish the body entirely before we address ourselves to the introduction, is a matter of little moment. Certain it is, however, that in planning the essay we are to write, it is desirable to know, first, precisely what the body is to contain, and how it is to be arranged—in a word, to know what we are to introduce—before we plan in detail how we shall introduce it. In this natural order, then—body, introduction, conclus:on¬let us now consider in detail the main divisions of a formal exposition. 37. The Body.—i. Limiting the Subject.—We can¬not begin to outline our essay until we are clear in our own mind, first, how the subject is to be limited, and second, for what sort of audience we are to write. The sharper the limits are that our title sets on our subject-matter, the less will be our temptation to wander aimlessly and ineffectively. "Lumbering" i3 far too large a subject for any one man's knowledge; but "Preparing Railroad Ties for the Market" is a well-defined industry capable of complete, systematic treatment. Were that to be our title, we should of course have to make the mental reservation that we would treat only of the industry as practiced under conditions with which we were familiar, as in the Oregon forests, for example; though we would not necessarily encumber our title with any such minute explanations. But, our subject being given, we must not fail to determine what sort of audience we are to address. Are they familiar with lumbering processes in general, so that we can go into detail and use cer¬tain technical terms freely? Or must we make our explanation more simple, for those to whom the whole business of lumbering is unknown and mysterious? We cannot always answer such questions absolutely, and as a rule we have to address ourselves to the "average man," whose information may be wide, but is not likely to be systematic; yet in so far as we can assume a definite audience we shall find that it will be of substantial help to us in deciding what we shall say, what leave unsaid. 2. Selecting Subject-matter.—When we come to the outlining of the body of our essay, then, our first con¬cern is to see that it contains the whole of the subject- matter we have undertaken to explain: and that it contains no more. Of course we divide matter that goes into the body under appropriate headings; the sum of these should equal the subject in hand, and leave nothing over. If, for example, we are dealing with the processes of preparing railroad ties for the market, it would be a mistake to tell how the trees are felled and call that the introduction; to show how the logs are sawn and call that the body; and to leave to the conclusion an account of how the finished ties are sent to the market. The introduction, we shall see, has a distinct purpose; the conclusion also has a function of its own; it remains for the body to include all the steps, from the beginning to the end, in the total process we have undertaken to explain. In a doubtful case, the purpose of our article is always the test as to what constitutes the body. If we wish to deal with the peculiar conditions of lumbering Oregon, as contrasted, say, with those in Maine, con¬siderations as to the position and extent of the forests belong clearly to the body. But if, on the other hand, we are explaining the difficult processes of lumber¬ing on mountain slopes, a description of the mountain forest is obviously necessary before we can follow the processes themselves; such a description may be included, therefore, in the introduction, though not to the exclusion of such other matters as we shall find to be essential. 3. Making the Outline.—After we have satisfied our¬selves that the whole of our subject-matter, and no more, is contained in our headings, it next concerns us to arrange these headings according to some con¬sistent plan. To begin with one plan and to abandon it for another is an error very easy to fall into. We have jotted down, perhaps, as a working basis for an outline on "Oregon Lumbering," the following head ings: 1. Men Employed. 2. Felling the Trees. 3. The Logging Camp. 4. Making Logging Roads. 5. Hauling the Logs. 6. The Sawmill. Let us examine our work thus far. We purpose to begin by explaining the organization of the logging force, by which, of course, we mean the whole logging force,—overseers, choppers, drivers, cooks, and all the rest. Since this list includes the men employed m all the processes of lumbering, it is natural to follow it with a complete account of the outfit of a lumber company,—the camp, with toolsheds, kitchen, etc.; the sleds for hauling; the mill, with band-saws, mill¬pond, and whatever other accessories it may have. We shall then have given a fairly complete idea of the conditions under which the actual lumbering is done, and we may go on to explain the processes in order, just as the reader might see them if he were on the ground we had been describing. This would lead to a rearrangement of our headings on a logical basis, capable of elaboration and completion: 1. The Men Employed. 2. The Outfit. a. The Logging Camp. b. The Sleds. c. The Mill, etc. 3. The Process. a. Felling the Trees. b. Hauling the Logs. c. Sawing the Logs. etc., etc. Glancing back at our headings, we see that we have left out number 4, "Making Logging Roads." How to dispose of it depends on the facts. If the roads are permanent, they may fairly be considered a part of the outfit; but if they are temporary affairs, made from time to time as they may be required to haul the logs to some central place, the making of them may fairly be considered one of the essential processes of the logging industry. When we have properly elaborated such a plan we shall have arrived at an arrangement of our material that is at least clear and logical, though not neces¬sarily the best. It may seem better to make the three obvious stages in the process of lumbering the basis of our outline: (1) the felling, stripping, and sawing of the trees as it is done near the camp, (2) the trans¬portation to the mill, and (3) the sawing and grading in the mill itself. In that case we need subdivisions under each heading, and must redistribute our ma¬terial consistently. The men employed in each stage Of the industry must then be spoken of in connection with their special work, and so with the outfit required in the several processes. We generally find a range of methods from which to select the one we care to follow. The important thing is to know clearly what plan we have selected, and to follow it out consistently to the end. One further precaution against vagueness or inac¬curacy of thought it will be well for us to take. If we accept our outline as recorded above, and begin to write from it, we shall very likely be tempted to in¬clude more under a given heading than we at first intended; and there will be found nothing in the wording of our outline to hold us strictly to that original intention. "The Men Employed," for in¬stance, is so general a heading that a variety of topics might logically be considered under it,—how the men are organized, their nationality, their habits and social life, their efficiency, the future outlook for labor, and so on. We may not deliberately intend to include more than the one topic that really concerns us, the organization of the logging force, but it is easy to be led by attractive side issues far from the path that we had originally planned to follow. It is a helpful practice, therefore, always to cast our headings into the form of complete sentences, with subject and predicate, unless, of course, a main heading obviously unites with its subordinate headings to make up a series of complete statements. Our outline might profitably be recast, then, as follows? 1. The Men Employed are Organized as Follows: a. Overseers, whose duties are: b. Choppers, etc., etc. 2. The Outfit Consists of: a. The Logging Camp. b. The Sleds, etc. 3. The Processes of Lumbering are: a. Felling the Trees. b. Hauling the Logs, etc. 38. The Introduction.—Now that our subject has taken definite shape in our own mind, we are in a position to turn to our reader with such preliminary remarks as seem appropriate by way of introduction. For it is to obtain an interested, intelligent hearing for our subject that the introduction is primarily designed. Let us for a moment put ourselves in the place of a reader who, taking up an essay to read, is confronted with the title "Oregon Lumbering." Questions arise at once. How much of the article can we understand? Granting that it is not to be too technical, how much of interest may we expect to find in it? And what will the reading profit us? What qualifications has the writer to deal with the subject at all? Manifestly the introduction has an important function to fulfil, a function whose nature is twofold: first, to make clear just what is to be treated, and how; second, to incite the interest or curiosity of the reader in behalf of the subject in hand. 1. Explaining the Purpose.—Successfully to accom¬plish the first object, several steps may be necessary. To begin with, it may be desirable to define the scope of our essay more carefully than we can conveniently do in a brief title. This we must do in our own minds, as we have seen, before we can begin to out¬line the body of the essay, but the reader also must know the limitations we have imposed upon ourselves, lest he be under misapprehension at the start as to just what our purpose is. Secondly, it is desirable always to show from what point of view we are dealing with our subject. Oregon lumbering may have en¬gaged our attention as a profitable business enterprise, or as a scientifically interesting process, or merely as a picturesquely attractive spectacle. Whatever the case, the reader should know what aspect of the sub¬ject we are most interested in and best qualified to speak of. And if this can be done indirectly, without obvious effort, so much the better. Finally, when these matters have been made clear, it is often helpful to outline briefly for the reader the plan we purpose to follow in the body of our exposition. Sometimes the plan is so obvious as to need no explanation. But at other times a preliminary outline of the subject gives the reader a sense of confidence at once: he can grasp the subject in its entirety, and as the facts come to him he can judge of their significance as related to other facts yet to come. 2. Arousing Interest.—As regards the other function of the introduction, to arouse interest in the subject in hand, it is possible to make suggestions, but not to give instructions; so much depends on the material at hand and the writer's skill in using it. Unques¬tionably, the place to arouse the reader's interest is the very beginning of the article; if his attention is caught there, it is comparatively easy to hold it as we go on. Some incident may appropriately be used for the purpose, some account of the circumstances under which we made acquaintance with our subject, or some picturesque scene which once held our imagi¬nation, for even the personal element, which does not belong to our exposition proper, may occasionally find place in an introduction, just as in the preface of a book. Or we may find some striking fact relating to the matter in hand. The great output of lumber, its wide distribution, the diminishing supply of it, the various uses to which it is put,—any or all of these things, if put vividly and suggestively, may well be relied on to awaken interest in the processes of the lumbering industry. Sometimes there may be par¬ticular reason for the subject's being of immediate contemporary interest. A movement may be on foot to further lumbering interests, or a sentiment may have been newly aroused against certain abuses in the industry; any such circumstance may be seized upon and made effective use of in engaging the read¬er's attention in behalf of our subject. 39. The Conclusion.—If we should close our article with the last paragraph of the body, it would seem to the reader abrupt and perhaps bewildering. His mind would be dwelling on some detail that we had last been speaking of, whereas we would have him grasp the whole of our subject at once, and see some significance in it. It is this function, to review a sub¬ject and make it effective for the reader, that is ful¬filled by the conclusion. The methods we may pursue are various, for, like the introduction, the conclusion adapts itself to the nature of the matter contained in the body. Some¬times, when the purpose of the article is to inform, and remembrance of the individual steps in the expo sition is of first importance, a summary is the simplest and most effective conclusion we can have. It en¬ables the reader to stand back for a moment, and to get a comprehensive, intelligent view of the whole subject as the writer sees it and wishes it to be seen. Or perhaps the subject is one that, directly or indirectly, throws into contrast some present set of conditions with those that are past. In such a case it may 13e interesting to sum up the changes that have already taken place, and then to glance at such future con¬ditions as we seem justified in forecasting. Or we may have some special opinion or theory of our own, to demonstrate which is one of the objects of our article. The conclusion is the place to make our point, for there we can select the significant facts from the body of the article and concentrate attention upon them. If we have hinted in the introduction that the reader is to expect some such demonstration at the close, so much the better; he has then prepared himself to anticipate our conclusions and the more readily to see the force of them. In fact, there should always be a sympathetic interplay between introduction and conclusion. Both take their tone from the nature of the subject-matter in the body, and together they interpret that matter for the reader and bring out effectively its significance.